Revelations
by Amberzlove
Summary: One thing leads to another and a lot of questions get answered.
1. Chapter 1

Revelations

By:

Me

Had the need to write another TMNT story. Based off the 2012 series and I have taken some liberties with canon so be warned.

_I own nothing_

**Chapter One**

Everything was relatively quiet in the lair for once with Sensei away. Mikey had been driving everyone absolutely crazy with his pranks and goofing around all morning. I tried to get him to calm down by flexing my leader muscles, but that didn't work so I tried the big brother approach and that was a nada. After having to forcefully pull a seething Raph off of Mikey, I finally grabbed his skateboard and threw my baby brother with it out of the lair door.

"Go play," I snapped at him as Raphael growled and snarled behind me, "Stay in the sewers and burn off some of that energy."

"Uncool, Leo," Mikey whined, "I'm booored."

"Tough," I stated as I crossed my arms.

"Take your t-cell with you," Donnie ordered as he tossed Mikey his phone, "Don't call unless it's an emergency."

"Fine," Mikey sulked as he toed his skateboard, "Whatever, Dudes."

Finally there was blissful silence. Donnie returned to his lab, Raph went to go lift weights, and I got a blissfully, hot, undisturbed cup of tea and some time to read some of my new book. Time floated by and I eventually went into the dojo to train. It was nice to get through several of my katas without having any unnecessary interruptions. Peace.

"Um?" I heard from the door and turned to see Raph, "Sorry to interrupt, Fearless, but have ya seen my helmet?"

"No," I answered as I straightened, "Where did you have it last?"

"Near my weights," Raph groused looking angry, "Sneakin', thievin' little brother. I know that damn Mikey took it."

"Give him a call," I suggested as I lit a meditation candle and sat on the floor, "Maybe he didn't take it and you just misplaced the helmet."

Raph didn't answer me as he had already dialed Mikey's number as he tapped his toe on the floor angrily.

"Mikey?" I heard him say into the phone as I tried to clear my mind, "Where tha shell is my helmet? I know ya got it."

I peeked an eye open when Raph grew silent and listened to what our little brother was saying.

"Oh," Raph sheepishly breathed as he physically calmed down, "Yeah. I remember now. No. I'm not goin' ta apologize ta ya since you usually are tha culprit when things come up missin'. Well, goodbye ta ya too, Knucklehead."

I raised an eye ridge at my younger brother when Raph growled at the silent phone.

"Gave my helmet ta Donnie ta repair the straps," my red-banded brother admitted.

"Which are repaired," Donatello informed the two of us as he stepped into the dojo and handed Raph his helmet, "I've gotten so much work done since Mikey was forced to go play elsewhere. It's been glorious."

"Ya're not kiddin'," Raph grinned out as he looked his helmet over, "Thanks, Don."

"Give Mikey a break, Bros," I urged, "His energy is just overflowing. I will admit that I've enjoyed some quality quiet time, but our little brother is not that bad."

Donnie and Raph looked at me skeptical. I rolled my eyes at them.

"Okay," I admitted, "Mikey is…um…He's a handful, but he doesn't mean any harm."

"Hn," Raph snorted, "That's just because ya don't get very much of tha raw end of his pranks. Get slime dumped on ya more than once and ya won't be so forgivin'."

I shook my head as we all heard the lair door open and shut. I stood and looked out the dojo to see the back of Mikey disappearing into his room and shutting the door.

"Ah," I sighed happily, "Looks like these last few hours of skateboarding has worn Mikey out. He actually went to his room quietly for a change. Probably needs a nap."

The three of us returned to our own little worlds and I enjoyed a couple of hours of meditation until nature called with that cup of tea that I had earlier. I stood and stretched before walking to our bathroom. I was surprise to see Mikey sitting on the closed toilet with his hand covering his face and a wet towel dangling from the other hand in his lap.

"Mikey?" I questioned before frowning when he didn't answer, "Michelangelo?"

Finally, I reached out and touched my little brother's shoulder and he startled awake and looked up at me in surprise. He wasn't wearing his mask.

"What in the shell?" I gasped as Mikey looked at me with a swollen cheek and blackening eye, "Mikey, what happened?"

"Huh? Leo?" my little brother answered as I squatted down to look closer at his injuries, "I'm fine. Just…just argued with a few bricks. I put up a fight, but the bricks won."

I frowned when I noticed that a little blood was trickling from a split lip, but then panicked when I saw some of the blood was trickling from his mouth.

"Explain," I ordered as I grabbed the wet washcloth from his hand to dab at his lips.

"I was like skateboarding," Mikey began as he seemed a little out of it, "Stopped to rest at the old wall under 49th street. Sat down and heard something and…Leo?"

"Yes?" I asked as I peered into his wide eyes.

"Don't look up when bricks start falling," Mikey informed me, "It really hurts, Dude."

I nodded before frowning when Mikey listed a little too far to the right. I steadied him and looked again at his eyes and realized that his pupils were not dilating as they should.

"Mikey, did you get hit on the head anywhere else besides your face?" I asked urgently as those baby-blues looked at me in confusion before I turned and yelled out the door, "Donnie! Donatello! Get in here _now_!"

"What?" my brother answered as I heard him hurrying down the hallway before he looked into the bathroom and hissed, "Mikey! Leo, what happened?"

I stepped back to allow Donnie to bend down and begin examining our little brother.

"What's with all the yelling? What's going on?" a voice said from behind me, "What tha shell happened to Mike?!"

I turned to see Raph standing in the doorway looking pissed.

"Guys, remember that old wall below 49th that we kept saying was going to topple down one day?" I asked as Donnie and Raph nodded, "I think Mikey was under it when a few bricks came down."

"More than a few," Donnie snapped as he was in full doctor mood and showed us Mikey's bruised and cut arms, "I think he tried to shield himself, but he was hit hard in the face and I found a lump on the side of his head."

"I'm fime," Mikey slurred as he began to list again.

"He tried to clean himself up on his own," I informed my brothers as Donnie steadied our baby brother, "I think he lost consciousness for a moment."

"Concussion?" Raph questioned looking concerned.

"Absolutely," Donnie agreed, "Raph, do you think you can get Mikey down to my lab. I don't think he'll be able to walk even with support."

Raph didn't answer he simply walked in and picked Mikey up in his arms once I squeezed outside to give him the room.

"Gently," Donnie instructed as our baby brother face paled as he blinked sleepily, "Stay awake, Mikey."

I followed feeling horribly guilty. I was the one that had told Mikey to leave the lair. Now he was hurt. Dammit!

"Wake up," Raph demanded as he stopped and shook our little brother a tiny bit, "Don't close those eyes again, Michelangelo, do you hear me?"

"Tired," Mikey breathed.

Raph laid Mikey down on the examination table of Donnie's lab. Our baby brother got a familiar look on his face and I was able to get a wastebasket up to him just in time as he vomited.

"And there goes the nausea," Donatello sighed as Raph supported Mikey from behind, "Leo, go get some ice. Mikey's eye is completely swollen shut now."

I nodded and winced when I heard Mikey vomiting for a second time. How was I going to explain to Master Splinter about our little brother? He had specifically told me to watch over my younger brothers while he was off on his spiritual journey through the sewers for the next two weeks. I walked back in with an ice pack to see Donnie continuing to examine our baby brother.

"How is he?" I whispered to Raph as Mikey continued to stare blankly ahead of him with tear stains on his face.

"Losing touch with reality," my red-banded brother whispered back looking stressed and worried, "And that is saying a lot for Mikey. Was just talkin' about connectin' tha dots on his arms and then burst inta tears when Donnie told him tha 'dots' were his freckles. Said that he was a spotted-freckled freak that nobody wanted."

I frowned unhappily that Mikey was so confused and upset.

"Leo?" Mikey called out as he turned his gaze unsteadily on me.

"Yes?" I answered as I walked up and gently placed the ice pack on my little brother's swollen eye, "No. Don't move away from the cold. The ice will help the swelling come down."

"Leo, Donnie thinths tha there ish someshing wrong with me," Mikey whined as he looked accusingly at the exasperated purple-banded turtle as I wrapped a bandage around his head to hold the ice pack in place, "Maskes him leave me lone. Leave me lone, Don-nie!"

I looked to Donatello feeling very troubled as our baby brother swiped in his direction half-heartedly, but missed by a good mile.

"Stop that, Mikey," Raph urged as he came back to the ailing turtle's side and gently pushed his hands back down, "Donnie's tryin' ta help ya get better. Stay still."

"Raph? Your eyes are so pwetty," Mikey beamed out as he suddenly yanked his older brother down and looked into Raph's emerald eyes from less than centimeters away, "Wishd ma eyes gween."

If the situation wasn't so serious, I would have laughed at Raph's shocked expression. Instead, I simply helped him get untangled from our baby brother so he could stand back up. Mikey looked at us in confusion before staring off blankly again.

"He has a decent concussion," Donnie explained as he grabbed some disinfectant and began cleaning Mikey's limp arms, "Luckily he didn't break any bones in his face, but he'll have a serious bruise there for a bit. I'll bandage the cuts on his arms up now, but his wrist is sprained and he has bruised ribs. I'm worried about his slip in reality so we'll have to keep him awake."

"What about the blood that was coming from his mouth?" I asked anxiously making Donnie halt.

"I didn't see any blood," Donnie exclaimed before standing and opening Mikey's mouth to peer inside with a penlight.

"Stopth," Mikey gagged out before pulling away and slapping a shocked Donatello across the face, "Fresh! I'm noth that type of toitle."

I couldn't help it. Raph and I roared in laughter at Mikey's look of righteous indignation.

"Sorry. Sorry," I apologized to my scowling, genius brother, "But that was priceless. Did he hurt you?"

"Hmph," Donnie snorted looking back at our little brother, "No. I'm fine, but Mikey bit his cheek and that is where the blood came from. You two go wait in the living room so that I can get Mikey bandaged up. He is getting too distracted with you guys near."

Raph and I nodded and went outside like Don had asked. I paced back and forth as Raph sat on the couch looking tense.

"Stop it, Fearless," Raph growled as I passed once again, "Ya're givin' me motion sickness."

Sighing I sat down beside him and looked accusingly at the book and empty glass of tea on the side table.

"Spit it out, Leo," Raph blurted making me glance over at my brother, "You're tryin' ta blame yaself for tha Knucklehead simply being in tha wrong place at tha wrong time, ain't ya?"

"Mikey wouldn't have been out of the lair if I hadn't chucked him out the door," I gritted out as I stood to pace anxiously, "He's my little brother and I should have just dealt with his exuberance by playing a game with him or something."

"Fearless, stop," Raph urged, "Look, Donnie and I wanted him out of our figurative hair as well. This was just a freak accident."

"An accident that happened because I wanted to read a damn book," I snapped as I grabbed my new book and chucked it across the room, "Sensei told me to keep Mikey out of trouble and I basically pushed him into it."

"Well, so did Donnie and I," Raph argued with narrowed eyes, "Fearless, ya can't think that ya caused any of this. Mikey usually never skateboards that far. I have no idea why he chose to do so today."

"I do," a voice interrupted us as we turned around to see Donatello.

"Why?" I asked as Donnie sighed leaning against the lab doorframe.

"You two don't know it, but when Mikey is upset he just boards mechanically for hours," our purple-banded brother answered, "Try to guess how many times I've had to drop everything and go rescue him because he got lost and needed me to track him down through his t-cell beacon."

My stomach dropped to my toes as I sat heavily. Mikey had been upset that I threw him out of the lair. Great! I was the best, big brother ever.

"Brilliant, Don," I heard Raph groan out.

"Leo, I'm sure he wasn't upset about being thrown out of the lair," Donatello quickly assured, "Sensei tosses him outside every other day."

I blinked up at my brother realizing that he was correct. So then, what had upset Mikey and why didn't I notice that he was driving us crazy because he needed to talk?

"And there goes more guilt," Raph crabbed as he slapped the back of my head making me start in surprise, "How is Mikey, Don?"

"I've got him settled on a cot in the lab and watching some cartoons so he'll stay awake," Donnie explained turning to look over his shoulder before freezing and dashing inside.

Raph and I darted after him. We both entered the lab to see our brother trying to rouse a pale Michelangelo.

"Mikey! Wake up, Buddy," Donnie was calling as he shook our baby brother and patted him on his uninjured cheek, "Come on, Mikey. Wake up, Bro."

I breathed a sigh of relief when Mikey roused and whined a single note of unhappiness. He had a bandage wrapped around his forehead which was alarming to see.

"Open your eyes, Mikey," I ordered as I squatted down next to his cot, "Stay awake and talk with us."

"Sleepy," Mikey breathed as he blinked up at me with one eye since the other one was still swollen shut, "Tired, Leo."

"This isn't good," Donnie moaned as he supported our little brother, "It's dangerous if he falls asleep right now and he is too injured to get him up and walking to get his circulation flowing."

"Hey, Mikey," Raph gently called out as he bent down next to the cot, "Let's play that card game ya've been beggin' me ta play all day. How does that sound?"

"Um…okay," Mikey agreed much to our relief.

Raph, Donnie, and I all realized that we would have to be very aware and take turns with our baby brother to try and keep him awake. Raph took first shift to play the promised, card game. Donnie and I left to go make some dinner.

"I'll make Mikey some chicken broth," Donnie volunteered as he efficiently began to take out what he would need from the cabinets and refrigerator, "I think something too heavy would only make him get sick again."

I nodded as I continued to think about my little brother. Guilt swarmed around my gut and made me feel like I would be the one getting sick.

"Donnie, has Mikey hinted at all that something has been on his mind?" I finally asked as the big brother in me warred to the front of my mind to get some answers to what had been upsetting my baby brother.

"Nope," the cooking turtle answered simply, "I did notice that he has been daydreaming a bit more than usual, but chalked it up to his usual flights of fancy."

"Hm," I hummed to myself, "Sensei also had a talk with him in the dojo before he left. Maybe something was brought up that Mikey is concerned about."

"Leo! Donnie! Get in here!" Raph's panicked voice shouted from the lab making my brother and I jerk up in shock.

Donnie moved the pot of soup to a cool eye and shut off the stove before we both raced into the lab.

"He-he just passed out," Raph gasped as he held our limp, baby brother in his arms.

"What was going on exactly?" Donnie demanded as he grabbed the penlight and began to check Mikey's pupil in his good eye and checked the still turtle's pulse.

"We was playin' tha game," Raph explained as I clenched my fists feeling helpless to do anything that would assist Mikey, "He was still real confused, but was answerin' all my questions pretty sensibly. Then Mikey just kinda choked up and went completely limp. What tha shell happened?"

"His mind shut down to heal," Donnie answered looking worried, "His eyes are responding to the light, but his blood pressure is a bit high. Damn! I was hoping that we could keep him awake until he was completely out of the danger zone of falling into a coma."

Raph looked like he was going to have a heart attack, but I quickly stepped back up as the leader and placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"What now, Donnie?" I inquired as Raph laid Mikey down on his pillow.

"All we can do is wait," the purple-banded turtle admitted as he placed a special made breathing mask over our baby brother's snout to get some fresh oxygen in his system, "Mikey's breathing well at the moment so we can only hope that he simply needs some good rest. We'll have to watch him in shifts. We need to try and see if we can get him to rouse again."

"I'll take first shift," I volunteered before frowning when Donnie shook his head.

"Let me," Donatello insisted, "I need to watch his blood pressure so you two go get something to eat. It's going to be a long night. Please put the chicken broth in the refrigerator for me, Leo."

I nodded and pulled Raph out of the room. He and I walked to the kitchen and I put the soup away as Donnie asked.

"I'm not hungry at the moment," I admitted.

"Me neither," Raph agreed looking at me, "Don't ya start with tha guilt again. Mikey's goin' ta be fine."

I nodded absently before realizing something. I really had to pee. I hadn't gotten to go when I found Mikey.

"I'll be right back," I stated as I started out of the kitchen.

"Where are ya goin'?" Raph asked curiously as I blushed for a second.

"To the restroom," I admitted, "Had to go earlier and that is when I found Mikey."

"What?" my brother chuckled out, "That was like nearly two hours ago."

"Don't remind me," I gritted out as I zoomed out of the room to the sound of my brother's laughter.

After I was through and washed my hands, I felt immediately better and went to walk back to the living room when I passed Mikey's open door. I paused and looked inside. Was there anything in here that would explain what was on my little brother's mind?

"That is an invasion in privacy," a small voice said in my head, but the brother in me said, "Screw privacy. Big brothers have the right to know what's going on with their younger brothers so that he can assist them."

The room was a complete disaster. I narrowed my eyes before trotting out of the room, passed Raph, and then back to Mikey's room with a fresh box of garbage bags.

"What are ya doin'?" Raph asked as he followed me into Mikey's room.

"Seeing if there is anything in here that can let me know what has our baby brother's mind upset about," I explained as I opened a garbage bag and began to sort through the stuff on the floor, "Plus, this room is a stinking hazard and I can't take the mess anymore."

Raph nodded and began to help me by stacking up all the old pizza boxes out in the hallway. It felt better having something I could do to help Mikey in some way. Once we had gathered all the obvious trash, Raph and I began to organize all the brick-a-brac in the room into identifiable piles.

"Think tha kid has enough comic books?" Raph snorted as the comic book pile grew taller and taller.

"Think you have enough motorcycle magazines?" I quipped back making my brother snort for a second time.

We worked for a couple of hours and finally had the floor and closet cleaned up. It was now time to tackle the bed. I looked over when Raph's stomach growled loudly.

"Go get something to eat," I urged as I continued to the bed, "I'm still not all that hungry. I can finish this corner of the room."

"Ya got ta eat, Fearless," Raph argued making me look up to see his poorly concealed concern.

"I promise to eat something when I'm done in here," I swore making my younger brother relax and nod as he walked out the door.

I sighed for a second before placing Mikey's comics into one of his desk drawers and his CDs in another. I then began to display his action figures and toys on his emptied shelves. I saved one shelf for his books. Mikey loved that silly, wizard book collection and he had several other collections that he had started reading over the years.

"Gag," I moaned as I began to pull out everything from under his bed, "So here is where most of our utensils and plates went. Gross!"

I put all the dirty dishes into a box and organized the odds and ends. I then tackled the bed. I was a little surprised to see our old picture albums under Mikey's covers. Why was he looking at these? None of us had looked at these pictures in over a year. I set the three albums on the desk and stripped the dirty bedding off. I jumped when something fell from underneath the mattress and struck the floor.

"What is this?" I asked aloud when I picked up what looked like a sketchbook.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Revelations

By:

Me

Had the need to write another TMNT story. Based off the 2012 series and I have taken some liberties with canon so be warned.

_I own nothing_

**Chapter Two**

I put all the dirty dishes into a box and organized the odds and ends. I then tackled the bed. I was a little surprised to see our old picture albums under Mikey's covers. Why was he looking at these? None of us had looked at these pictures in over a year. I set the three albums on the desk and stripped the dirty bedding off. I jumped when something fell from underneath the mattress and struck the floor.

"What is this?" I asked aloud when I picked up what looked like a sketchbook.

I flipped the pages and gasped at each of the hand-drawn pictures. Each page was a drawing of us around the lair. I smiled when one showed Raph and I glaring angrily at one another. The picture was entitled "The Twins Disagree."

"What ya lookin' at?" Raph asked as he entered the room and then wrinkled his snout at the box of dirty dishes, "Oh, sick, Bro."

"Tell me about it," I agreed before showing him the picture.

"Whoa, that's good," Raph whistled, "Twins, huh? Is that what Mikey thinks? He thinks that you and I are twins?"

"Looks like it," I murmured before looking up at my brother, "You and I share the same looks and body structure compared to Donnie and Mikey. Donnie once said that our skin is only one shade different from the other, but our eyes are totally different so I didn't think anything of it. Plus, Sensei has said that you and I are the opposite sides of the same coin. Maybe we are twins."

"Maybe," Raph grunted out, "Would explain why we are always at one another's throat. April once said real brothers are typically opposites of one another."

My eyes widened at my brother's statement.

"That's it," I gasped looking at Raph, "Mikey had the old photo albums and most of his drawings of us talk of twins. Donnie's pictures are entitled stuff like 'Genius Bro' and 'Brother of the Twins.'"

"So?" Raph blurted looking confused.

"Mikey asked Sensei the other day why he had freckles and the rest of us didn't," I reminded my supposed twin, "You said that he began to cry over being a 'spotted-freckled freak' in the lab. What if Mikey has been feeling like he is not really a brother to the rest of us?"

"Shell, he would be so upset," Raph groaned, "Knucklehead thinks too much and takes way too much ta heart without any real evidence of anythin'."

"Agreed," I sighed out before grabbing up the dirty bedding, "Raph, would you take the box of dishes into the kitchen? I'm going to throw these into the washer machine."

"Fine," Raph acknowleged, "But I ain't cleanin' these. They're gross."

I chuckled as I left to clean the bedding. I returned to place fresh sheets on Mikey's bed and carefully placed his beloved, panda bear on the pillow while giving the room a good hit of air freshener. I sniffed for a moment and hit the room with another bit of air freshener. Rank! I took the sketch book into the living room to place on the couch before grabbing up the many trash bags and pizza boxes to temporarily keep outside the lair door. I would throw them away later.

"Go eat right now," Raph ordered me as he thumbed through Mikey's drawings on the couch.

"Just let me check on Donnie and Mikey first," I agreed as I slipped into the lab.

Donnie looked up at me from the floor beside Mikey's bed.

"How is he?" I asked looking unhappily at my still unconscious, little brother.

One side of Mikey's face was a mass of fresh bruises. Damn wall! Damn bricks!

"Blood pressure is stable and his eyes…um…or rather eye, is still reacting to light properly," Donnie stated as he gently laid Mikey's hand down, "We're not out of the woods yet, but so far so good. What was all that noise I was hearing?"

"I cleaned out Mikey's room," I admitted as Donnie looked at me in surprise.

"And you didn't come to me for inoculations first?" my little brother joked before sobering up, "Why would you do that besides the fact that you are a neat freak?"

"Tried to find a clue to what might have been bothering Mikey," I said as Donnie sat up straighter.

"Find anything?" my purple-banded brother questioned.

"I think so," I nodded out before Raph came in and interrupted us.

"Fearless, ya and Brainiac go get some food," Raphael ordered as he handed me the sketchbook, "Ya tell Donnie what ya found while I watch Mikey."

"Talk to him, Raph," Donnie encouraged as I helped him stand up from the floor, "Try to get him to wake up. If we can just get him from falling into too deep of a sleep I think Mikey will be fine."

Raph nodded and pulled up a chair next to the bed as Donnie and I left to get some chow.

"Whoa!" Donnie smirked out as we noticed the soup and sandwiches waiting at the table, "Raph must be really worried. He made us dinner."

"He's more thoughtful than he lets on," I assured, "You just have to look and see it at times."

"Tell me about what you found in Mikey's room," Donnie urged as we grabbed something to drink and began to eat, "What is that book?"

"First, have you and Mikey had any conversations about his freckles or about our family recently?" I asked.

Donnie swallowed a bite of sandwich and looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Now that you mention it, yes," my brother answered, "I ran a blood-type test on each of us in case of an emergency about a month ago. Mikey was all like 'you are a vampire' with the voice and everything. It was quite funny."

I smiled at the thought.

"What did you find?" I inquired leaning forward.

"Hm," Donnie hummed, "Mikey was really excited and waited to hear the results. I found that you, me, and Raph were the same blood type. Mikey's was different, but I assured him that the rest of us had basically a universal blood type that we would be able to give to him if he ever needed a blood transfusion."

"How did Mikey take the news?" I demanded as the pieces began falling into place.

"Well, he seemed a little quiet," Donnie added, "He perked up when I pointed out that you and Raph's DNA were so close that it was almost like…."

"We were twins?" I interrupted as Donatello looked up at me in surprise.

"Yeah," my brother agreed, "How did you know?"

"Look at this," I insisted pushing the sketchbook over to Donnie.

I started eating my sandwich and soup as Donnie looked at each page. My younger brother exclaimed over the details of each of the drawings.

"These are so good," Donnie breathed out in shock, "I knew Mikey could draw well, but these are first rate."

"Did you notice the titles of the drawings?" I questioned as I finished my meal.

"Yeah. I especially loved the one entitled 'The Twins and the Brainiac Bro,'" Donnie chuckled out turning to the drawing of the three of us sitting around the table, "He really took the idea of you and Raph being twins to heart."

"Donnie, do you really think that Raph and I are twins?" I asked.

"I'm going to say yes," Donnie admitted, "We hatched from eggs, but it is not unknown for a female turtle's first pregnancy to only bear one or two eggs. I mean you are assuredly the older twin, but I think that Raph was nipping right behind your heels. How does this relate to Mikey's feelings?"

"I think perhaps Mikey began to come to the conclusion that he wasn't a part of this family," I sadly explained.

"What?" Donnie gasped out, "Why?"

"I think he started doubting being our brother and began to question himself. Remember that he became really obsessed with why he had freckles and we didn't?" I continued as Donnie nodded, "He had our old photo books in his room and I think maybe he was trying to find some similarity to us besides being a mutant turtle to prove that he was an actual brother to the three of us."

"Mikey and I came from a different clutch of eggs," Donnie insisted looking horrified, "I told him that we were at least a year younger than you and Raph so we may not be actually blood related, but the pet store that Master Splinter got us from did breed their own turtles so there was still a possibility that we are just your baby brothers."

"I think Mikey determined that if you, Raph, and I had the same blood type that we were brothers and he was left out in the cold," I groaned out, "There is not one drawing in his book that he has placed himself in."

"Oh, poor Mikey," Donnie murmured looking upset, "I never thought that he would start thinking that way. I mean we've been together like forever. We'd always be brothers no matter what."

"It's Mikey that we need to convince of that," I nodded out as I stood to take my dishes to the sink and looked in disgust at the box of dishes that came from my little brother's room.

"What is that?" Donnie asked wrinkling his snout and looked inside the box, "Ugh! I know those dishes came from Mikey's room. Was he growing penicillin?"

I shrugged as I started filling the sink to soak the dishes. Mikey's strong points did not include being neat.

"I'll do the dishes," Donnie insisted, "You go takeover for Raph. I know that you'll feel better being close to Mikey."

"Thanks, Bro," I smiled out as I placed a hand on his shoulder before hurrying back to the lab.

I walked into the room and listened as my new-found twin spoke to our baby brother.

"Ya are one silly turtle," Raph softly stated as he rubbed Mikey's good hand, "Thinkin' ya weren't a part of this family. Ridiculous! Ya need ta wake up now so that I can set ya straight, Bro. Wakey-wakey."

"Has he responded at all?" I asked when Raph finally picked up on my presence.

"Not even a shiver," Raph denied looking upset, "What ya find out from Don?"

I sighed and pulled up a chair and began to explain to my twin everything that Dontello had discovered. Raph reeled back in apparent shock.

"Damn, Leo!" Raph grunted as he looked at me widely, "So ya and me really _are_ twins?"

"It would seem so," I nodded out as Raph looked thoughtful.

"I can live with that, Fearless," my twin smirked at me, "But what are we goin' ta do about Mikey. How we goin' ta get tha little Knucklehead ta understand that family can be more than blood related?"

"I'm not sure," I admitted, "Let me think about that. I'll take over watching Mikey."

"I'm goin' ta kill Donnie for havin' put this idea inta Mikey's head," Raph growled as he stood up irritably.

"Donnie didn't mean for him to take the information the way he did," I soothed, "I know your angry at this situation, but blaming Donnie is not going to help our baby brother."

Raph grunted and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Whatever," he sulked out as he stomped towards the door before glancing back over his shoulder, "I guess havin' ya for a twin ain't all that bad."

I blinked up in surprise as my twin quietly closed the door behind him. A small smile lit up my face as a warm wave washed through me, but when I looked down at Mikey and everything grew cold again. I scooted my chair up close to stroke a soft, freckled cheek.

"Hey there, Monster," I greeted my baby brother softly with his old nickname, "You've been asleep for too long so it is time to wake up. Father is going to kill me when he gets home and finds that you got hurt. Don't leave me hanging here, Mikey. My life is on the line."

Mikey remained still and quiet, but I had my hopes that he could hear me still.

"Baby Bro, I found your sketchbook," I admitted, "Your drawings are wonderful. You even helped Raph and I discovered that we are twins. Can you believe it? We are such opposites yet we are drawn to one another through being the same family. I figured out that you have been thinking that you aren't a part of that same family. Well, let me tell you that you are wrong. All of your big brothers are really worried for you which means that you are such a big part of this clan."

I felt like I talked with my little brother for days. I continued to emphasize that he was our baby brother and needed to wake up as soon as possible. I talked about our Father and how worried he would be. I tried to bribe him with pizza, videogames, or whatever else his heart desired if he would just wake up for me. A hand on my shoulder made me jump in surprise and I spun to see Donatello and Raph standing behind me.

"Anything?" Donnie asked, but drooped when I reluctantly shook my head, "I wish I had never run that stupid test."

I looked sharply at my twin, but Raph waved his arms to show that he hadn't said anything. Leave it to Donnie to put the pieces together so quickly.

"If I can't take the blame for Mikey getting hurt, then you can't take the blame for Baby Bro getting himself worked up over nothing," I urged as Donnie sighed, "Look, this is not the first time Mikey has asked about his freckles. I have a funny feeling that he has been harboring these feeling for a longtime."

"I just reinforced his fears," Donnie snapped, "I proved...I proved…."

Donatello froze in place as he turned his thoughts inward.

"What?" Raph demanded, "Ya proved what?"

"I didn't prove anything, but that you and Leo are twins," Donnie mumbled before snapping his gaze up excitedly, "I didn't go any further in the testing because I was simply trying to determine our blood types."

"And?" I encouraged.

"And now I'm going to do the tests over again," Donnie stated as he ran and got some fresh needles, "I tried to explain to Mikey that his blood type did not mean he wasn't still related to us. I told him that his blood type could have been from the other parent. Siblings have been known to have several different blood types within the same family."

"But what if your tests prove that Mikey is really not related ta us at all?" Raph demanded, "That could destroy him."

"I'll burn the results before he sees them," Donnie insisted, "If he is related to at least one of us then Mikey will feel more sure about everything again and we'll have him back to his wonderfully, annoying self."

"I'm game," I agreed and Raph nodded before we heard a small noise from the cot.

We all looked down and saw Mikey blinking up at us in confusion.

"Mikey?" I gasped squeezing his hand, "Hey, Bro. We've been so worried about you."

"How do ya feel?" Raph asked as he looked down at the smaller turtle.

Our baby brother didn't say anything and blinked a few times before closing his eyes again.

"Hey! Hey, stay wake," Donnie blurted as he kneeled down next to Mikey and gave him a light shake which resulted in our baby brother looking back up, "Good. I'm going to look into your eye with this light. Keep awake for me, okay?"

Donnie examined Mikey again, but soon our little brother couldn't fight his weariness and slipped back asleep. I felt a panic set in, but my purple-banded brother patted me on the knee before standing.

"It's fine, Leo. I think Mikey is going into a healing slumber," Donnie stated looking relieved, "He is still reacting properly to light and he shouldn't fall into such a deep sleep that Mikey is pulled into a coma now that he has roused. Thank goodness our bro woke up."

"Are you positive?" I choked out in relief of what Donnie had said, "Mikey is going to be okay?"

"Absolutely," my purple-banded brother assured, "I'm going to continue to watch him just to make sure while I'm running my tests."

I nodded as a lot of the anxiety left my system in a giant rush that left me dizzy. I place my head in my hands to center myself for a moment.

"You okay, Thing One?" Raph softly asked as he squatted down beside my chair.

"Much better now, Thing Two," I chuckled out as my twin smirked, "Mikey has given me quite a scare today, but I guess this was needed so we could deal with our baby brother's feelings. Just wished we could have not had the falling bricks part of the day."

"You and me both, Bro," Raph agreed as Donnie came up with a tray of fresh, hypodermic needles and expertly drew blood from each one of us, including our baby brother.

"You guys go to bed," Donnie instructed, "I'll call you if there is any change in Mikey's condition. I need you to leave the lab so that I can start the DNA testing."

Raph and I each gave a small peck to Mikey's forehead and then left the lab. Raph said goodnight to me and went to his room, but I parked myself on the couch. I was determined to stay awake in case anything did change in our little brother's health. I wasn't sure when I did fall asleep, but I awoke to my twin shaking me awake the next morning.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Revelations

By:

Me

Had the need to write another TMNT story. Based off the 2012 series and I have taken some liberties with canon so be warned.

_I own nothing_

**Chapter Three**

Raph and I each gave a small peck to Mikey's forehead and then left the lab. Raph said goodnight to me and went to his room, but I parked myself on the couch. I was determined to stay awake in case anything did change in our little brother's health. I wasn't sure when I did fall asleep, but I awoke to my twin shaking me awake the next morning.

"I shoulda known that ya wouldn't go to bed, Fearless," Raph groused as he rubbed his hands briskly up and down my chilled, stiff arms, "Ya goin' ta get sick and that will upset Mikey more."

"Mikey!" I gasped and went to rise, but my red-banded brother pushed me back down.

"Donnie says that the kids doing fine," Raph informed me, "Genius also said to stay out of the lab until he is done with his tests.

Nodding, I stretched the kinks out and then settled happily under the blanket that Raphael draped around my shoulders. Gratefully, I accepted the hot tea that Raph held out to me. Many didn't realize how much Raph did for everyone. He was sneaky about how he showed he cared. I warmed up enough for my twin and I to grab some breakfast. We had just finished eating when the lair door was hurriedly opened and Master Splinter came inside.

"What is going on?" our Father hissed looking flustered, "I've sensed a great foreboding and I was not able to reach you during your evening meditation, Leonardo. I came as quickly as I could. Where are Donatello and Michelangelo? What has been happening since I left?"

Raph and I gulped and sat Sensei down to explain what had happened to Mikey. Father dashed into the lab when he heard that our baby brother had been injured before we could finish our story. My twin and I followed and saw Donnie rattling off Mikey's injuries and his health status.

"Michelangelo, you are going to be the death of me," Master Splinter whispered down to our sleeping brother before sitting down on a chair next to Mikey's bed and grasping the still turtle's good hand, "Tell me the rest of the story. I know that my youngest ever only goes off that far when there is something on his mind. I asked your brother what was causing him to lose focus right before I left, but the child denied that there was anything wrong."

The others looked to me so I began to tell what I had slowly unraveled. Sensei frowned when I was done with my tale.

"It is unsettling to know that I missed that Michelangelo was feeling this way," Father stated looking troubled, "I have always viewed you four as brothers. There was always a more solid connection between you and Raphael because you were twins, but Donatello and Michelangelo have always revolved around their older brothers like moons around a planet."

"Hold up a moment," Raph interjected, "Ya mean ya always knew that Leo and I were twin brothers? Why didn't ya say anthin'."

"I have many times said that you were opposite sides of the same coin," Master Splinter answered, "It was obvious what I was saying to you, my son."

"Not ta someone that speaks English," Raph muttered under his breath making me have to hold back a snort of laughter before my twin straightened at Sensei's stern face and bowed his head in acknowledgement to our father's words.

"Well, I have the exact answers we need," Donnie spoke up looking happy and proud of his accomplishment, "And I can inform everyone that with extensive research and a few phone calls to the pet shop we came from, that with good science anything can be…"

"Spit it out already!" Raph barked making Donnie scowl at being interrupted, "Is Mikey our blooded brother, or not?"

"Rude," Donatello hissed as my twin rolled his eyes and gave the hurry sign, "Mikey is 100% our baby brother."

I sighed in relief as Raph and I exchanged grins. Even Father beamed and sat up straighter.

"The DNA proves our family ties," Donnie grinned out, "Plus, the pet store only had one female and one male turtle that they were breeding when Master Splinter purchased us for pets."  
"I hate tha word 'pets,'" Raph groaned out.

"I prefer you as you are now," Father agreed, "'Sons' have a much better ring to it.

We all smiled and urged Donnie to state the rest of his findings.

"We already know that Leo and Raph are the two eldest," Donatello continued, "I came during the next hatching, but here is where it gets interesting. You see Mikey's egg was laid with the next litter, but he didn't hatch with everyone else. The pet store owner said that more than one egg dies during a hatching and they simply throw the eggs away. Mikey's egg has slipped off under some rocks so the pet store owner didn't discover it. It was not until he was cleaning out the aquarium a couple of weeks later that he discovered our Mikey beginning to hatch. The man said that he was very reluctant to sell Father Mikey since he felt that our baby brother was a runt and would probably die."

"That Bastard!" Raph growled before looking contrite at Father's stern look.

"I chose each of you for the spirit that I sensed in you," Master Splinter explained as he stroked Mikey's hand with his thumb, "I sensed right away your little brother was a fighter and insisted on having him to be my own."

"So Mikey is actually much younger than us," I murmured thinking, "We'll have to remember that when he is driving us all crazy. We can't expect him to have the same maturity level as the rest of us so we'll have to have more patience where he is concerned."

Raph and Donnie nodded and then everyone jumped when Mikey began to laugh as he pushed the oxygen mask down around his neck. He trembled against his pillow as his face twisted in anguish.

"Mikey!" I gasped as our little brother's laughter turned to tears, "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough. I've been so scared, Leo," Mikey wailed as we gathered around him, "I just always wondered, you know, why I seemed so different from everyone else. You and Raph were twins and Donnie had to be your real brother since he was as smart as you are, Bro."

I blushed hotly as I scooped Mikey up to lean against my chest.

"That is very flattering, but Donnie is much smarter than I will ever be," I admitted as Raph and Donnie grinned at my blushing cheeks.

"I'm all stupid, spotty and then my blood type was different from everyone else's," our baby brother sniffled out, "You can all focus and I can't a lot of times and I just started panicking and thinking what if I wasn't really your brother. What if Donnie discovered this and you wouldn't want me anymore because I wasn't really family?"

"You are a silly, little turtle, Child," Father chuckled out as Mikey looked at him in confusion, "Is April a turtle?"

"No," Mikey answered looking confused.

"Do you see her as a big sister?" Sensei continued to ask as Mikey began to catch on.

"Yes," Mikey agreed.

"So April has become a part of your family just like I became your father even though I am not a turtle," Splinter smiled out as Mikey looked relieved, "You would always be a brother to Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael even if you were not blood related."

"Even if I annoy them and have stupid spots?" Mikey asked as he looked down.

"Your freckles are adorable!" I insisted as my twin snorted at me and I turned to Raph, "They are and I'm not ashamed to admit the fact. Mikey wouldn't be Mikey without his freckles."

My baby brother perked up and looked a lot happier despite the bruises that still marred one side of his face.

"Plus, it's a baby brother's job ta annoy his siblings sometimes," Raph laughed out, "Even Donnie has his moments."

"What?" Donatello squawked indignantly as Mikey giggled before yawning and Don switched to medical mode, "Mikey, do you want to eat anything before you go back to sleep? You haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday."

"No," Mikey answered as he snuggled against my plastron, "Tummy feels bad and my head hurts. I'm sleepy."

"Okay," Donnie practically cooed as he replaced the oxygen mask back on Mikey's muzzle, "I want you to keep this on while you sleep. It's good to have fresh oxygen to heal from a concussion."

Mikey looked mutinous, but conceded after a glare from Father. He was allowed to remove the mask long enough to swallow some painkillers and drink some water before falling back to sleep.

"You three have had a very trying time," Master Splinter said as he continued to hold Mikey's hand, "Go directly to bed."

"You might have to force Thing One to do as you ask," Raph chuckled out as I frowned, "He fell asleep on the couch rather than go to bed when Mikey was finally out of any real danger."

"Shut up, Thing Two," I snapped irritably as I saw Donnie grinning at the new nicknames, "Great. Look what you did. Now Donnie will tell Mikey and the two will be calling us Thing One and Thing Two all the time."

"What?" Raph grunted before bolting after Donnie as he ran out of the lab giggling.

"Father?" I said as Master Splinter focused on me and I settled my baby brother back on his pillow and covered his smaller form back up with his blanket, "I'm sorry I let you down and didn't keep Mikey from getting hurt."

"Leonardo, you can believe that every action that happens in life is something that can be controlled," Sensei instructed me, "Michelangelo certainly did not sit down at that wall in order to be hurt as he was and you did not send him out of the lair to get injured. There is no blame or fault to feel guilty over. Now go to bed, in your bed, right now."

"Hai, Sensei," I agreed as I stood and bowed before leaving the room.

It felt good to peel off my equipment and crawl into my futon, but my door opened almost immediately. I opened one eye to see my twin looking in on me.

"Just checkin'," Raph smirked out before closing my door again.

"Busybody little brothers," I grumbled as I rolled over, "Thank God for them."

Epilogue:

Mikey had been sleeping for several days on and off and the lair was still so quiet and peaceful. I hated every moment of it. I felt surly and off balance. I couldn't find the joy and the laughter that usually rang through the lair. Where were the sounds of running feet and videogames? I even missed Raph's growls as he chased Mikey through the lair after a prank.

"Ugh!" Donnie groaned from the kitchen table where he was working on an invention since Mikey was still in the lab, "This quiet _sucks_."

"Tell me about it," Raph nearly whined as he threw himself on a beanbag, "If ya tell Mikey I said this, I'll slaughter ya whether ya a twin brother or little brother, but I miss the Knucklehead's chirping. This place is not tha same without him muckin' about."

"I agree," I stated feeling lousy and grumpy.

"Whoa," Raph gasped, "Fearless Thing One just agreed with me. Pigs are sprouting wings as we speak."

"Ha ha," I snarked as I laid my head back on the couch before startling when I opened my eyes to see Raph and Donnie looking down at me in concern from upside down, "What?"

"You've been in a bit of a mood for the past six days while Mikey's been healing," Donnie admitted, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I snapped before sulking and sitting up, "No…I don't know. I feel funny."

"Funny, how?" Raph demanded as he came around the couch and sat beside me looking concerned.

"Off center," I described, "Not right. Tightly wound."

"Ya always tightly wound," Raph joked before calming at my glare, "Try ta meditate. Ya always feel better after that hippy-dippy mumbo-jumbo."

I arched an eye ridge at my twin as Raph leaned back smirking at me.

"I'll go and get one of your meditation candles," Donnie offered and went into the dojo and returned with a lit candle in no time, "This should help you get your center back."

I nodded and eased myself on the floor and began to calm myself and found that meditation was helping me unwind quite a bit despite the stress that was niggling at the back of my mind. I lost track of time as some of the worries eased from my spirit with each deep breath.

"Hey, Leo!" a voice shouted and I looked up in time to receive a water balloon directly in the face, "Master Splinter is letting me stay up for a little bit. Miss me?"

The world fell back into synch as the water dripped from my face. My twin shook his head chuckling as Donnie hid a grin behind his fist. I looked to see Michelangelo's bruised face beaming at me from the couch with his sprained wrist in a sling and both eyes fully open and sparkling.

"Yeah, Monster," I grinned back, "I've missed you a lot."

The end.


End file.
